Stage Fright
by Forgotten Sanity
Summary: Lily Evans adores singing, it is like breathing to her... But can she do it infront of the entire school? (Fic is far better than the summary, I promise!)
1. Talent

Lily was dreaming. She simply had to be dreaming. There was no way that she was awake and Proffessor Staples had just announced what their 'project' in Muggle Studies would be that term.

"That is right, class" cam the booming voice of the somewhat formidable man stood before them "You will all be organising and taking part in a Talent Competition, much the same as Muggles have. And may I just remind you that magical talents are not permitted in this contest"

There was a unanimous groan from the class. Well, maybe it would have been if Lily had not been sat there grinning like a cat that had just found a lake filled with milk. She, unlike msot people there, was Muggle born, so this would be easy. But what talent did she have...?

"Now then, Miss Evans" the Proffessor's voice brought her back to the room and away from her own thoughts "I expect you to be enterring, seeing as you grew up with Muggles. May I ask what talent you will be using?"

Lily felt 30 pairs of eyes upon her as the whole class paid attention then. She had to think fast, and so opted for the same thing she had done in a talent competition a few summers ago.

"Singing" she replied firmly, and many people started mutterring about this, debating about whether or not their peer could actually sing. They had never heard her, and so were unsure about the matter.

"Very good" Staples nodded, walking back to the front of the room "Now I want all of you to either sign up to be in the contest or to help out backstage"

Their was a slight rush to get to hte front of the room, to be allocated the place that each student wanted. Lily simply sat back in her seat with a worried expression upon her freckled face. Could she really sing infront of these people? Well, it was only a little class project. Wasn't it?

"By the way" Ah, Lily knew there was something else. She watched the Proffessor as he spoke "You will be performing infront of the entire school at the end of the term"

"What!" the entire class gasped, Lily's voice being louder than most.

The entire school! she certainly could have managed thirty people, but not the uncountable numbers in all of Hogwarts! This was asking too much.

"If you back out" came the booming voice "Then you must be fully aware of the F that will be coming your way" The man was cruel, deffinately, but he certainly knew how to get what he wanted from a class.

The bell rang to signal the end of class. Lily got up and strolled out of the room in mild shock. The entire school! Oh, where was Kendra when she wanted to talk to her?

Incidently, Kendra Chang, a pretty Ravenclaw girl was waiting outside the door for Lily.

"Hey" she smiled then frowned, noting the look upon her friend's face "What's wrong? You look like Pettigrew just kissed you or something"

This got the desired effect as Lily burst out laughing "I would be more furious than shocked if that happened" she giggled "But no. It's this stupid project we have to do... A Muggle-style talent contest. Staples' got me to say I'd be in it"

"Doing what?" Kendra found herself interrupting, her bright blue eyes flashing with curiosity.

"Singing..."

"And that is terrible because...?"

"The entire school, Kenny! I have to sing infrotn of everyone!" Lily groaned.

"By 'everyone' are you refferring to a certain Mr Potter?" the raven-haired girl grinned.

"I couldn't care less about Potter!" Lily blushed, lying very badly.

"Girl, you got it bad" Kenny laughed

"I have not!"

"Admit it"

"Never"

"It;s ok, you're crazy about him"

"I am not, I wont say it"

"Just admit it"

"I can't, because I don't"

"Girl don't deny it"

"I wont say it"

"say what?"

"That I'm in love"

"Ha, got you!"

"Damn..."


	2. Haunting Voice

Lily and Kendra seated themselves in the Great Hall for dinner and, much to the rehead's dismay, the infamous Marauders were sat not too far away. it was all she could do not to let her jade gaze wander over to the blue-eyeed prankster who was currently laughing at something Sirius had said.

"So, Lilz, decided what song you're doing yet?" Kenny's voice broguht her back to their conversation about the Talent Contest.

"No clue" she shrugged, sipping at her orange juice "I was thinking something with a fast beat, but I don't know what song. If I go through one round I'll have to find another song, wont I?"

"More than one round?" the Pureblood girl frowned, looking confused.

"Duh. That's how Proffessor Staples has it planned. Four people are chosen from the first round and they have to alter their act slightly for a round where the entire school votes. I heard him telling Remus..."

"Lupin's in your Muggles Studies?"

"duh" Lily repeated with a grin "I have no idea what he's doing though" As she said this she turned in the marauders' direction "Hey, Remus?" she called to gain his attention.

Remus Lupin turned soulful eyes towards her and smiled "Hey Lily, what song are you doing then?"

"Why do I keep getting asked that" she chuckled "I have no idea.. What are you doing then?"

Before Remus could answer James turned his eyes to Lily "What are you two on about?" he quizzed.

"Talent Contest" Lily found herself replying more confidently than she felt "It's part of out Muggle Studies class"

"And you're singing?" James smirked at the thought of this.

"Yes, I am" she nodded, wondering about the look upon his face.

"But Evans, I didn't know you could sing"

"What's it to you, even if I can?"

"Touchy, aren't you? Maybe you can't sing after all."

"James, shut up before she hurts you" Sirius muttered, warning his friend as he saw the dangerous look in Lily's eyes.

"James, if I can't sing then you are the most handsome boy on this planet" she laughed humourlessly.

"You must be aweful then"

That one was going to cost him dearly. "Potter, go boil your fat head" she snapped, storming out of the Great Hall.

Kendra shook her head in dispair "Potter, why do you insist on making her mad and upsetting her?" she snapped.

"I didn't upset her, did I?" James found himself frowning.

"No duh!" kenny sighed "James, she has an amazing singing voice, but she's so shy... A word of warning; next time you want to insult her voice, just don't, ok? Unless you want me and Lily putting a lovely and painful curse on you"

"Chill, Chang, I was joking"

"Then why was nobody laughing, dung-brains?"

This made Sirius smile "Well said, Kenny" he chuckled before turning to James "Y'know, Prongs, you were a bit of a git to her"

"Cheers for the support, Padfoot" James grumbled, becoming suddenly interested with the table so he had no cause to look at anyone. He felt aweful about what he had said to Lily

"Guys, I think you need to hear something" Kenny sighed, getting to her feet "Come on, before she stops"

"Who? What?" Sirius asked, clearly as confused as his friends.

"Just follow me, ok? And don't asy a word until I say so" And with these words Kendra walked away with the three Marauders close behind her in total silence.

After a short walk they found themselves in the Gryffindor Common Room. Kendra got out her wand and pointed it at the girls' staircase "I give permission for the three boys to enter" she said softly then put her wand away. She did not explain her actions, simply walking up the stairs. Remus, James and Sirius looked doubtful but followed all the same. For once the stairs did not turn to a ramp, they remained steps and so the boys enterred the girls' dorm corridor.

A soft sound met their ears, a beautiful voice floating on their air, sounding sad.

Kendra hoped she was doing the right thing as she gestured for them to follow her to the door of a room that was slightly ajar. The singing was coming from inside. She mouthed the word 'listen' and then stood with a small smile of pride as the voice reached her ears.

"_Unfortunately, _

_Me and you could not be me more unhappy with each other its true. _

_But I don't understand. _

_What makes such a nice guy. _

_Turn so cold and start acting so funny with me. _

_If had a dime or all of the times that I tried to call you. _

_But you didn't answer the phone. _

_I would be a rich girl._

_But noticing you always stay on one. _

_Damn I just know what is it. _

_That got me stuck like this, stuck like this, stuck like this. _

_Damn it feels like I'm dying. _

_I just can't stop crying. _

_What is it. _

_That's got me stuck like this_

_For some reason _

_I can't stick this grip that you got on my mind _

_You start making me weak. _

_Why you treat me so mean? _

_Some times you used to be, so sweet to me. _

_I can't remember the last time, _

_You told me. _

_You kept it real wit me the way you should _

_You kept it real the way you should _

_The way you should you kept it real _

_Kept it real, _

_Kept it real _

_The way you should, you kept it real_

_Damn I just know what is it. _

_That got me stuck like this, stuck like this, stuck like this. _

_Damn it feels like I'm dying. _

_I just can't stop crying. _

_What is it. _

_That's got me stuck like this_" The haunting voice stopped and instead a girl spoke, obviously through her tears.

"Oh God James, you always make me cry like this" she mumbled to herself.

James' heart felt deflated as he recognised the voice. Lily...


	3. Tutoring

Lily sighed, emerald eyes half closed due to lack of sleep the previous night. As she strolled down the stairs from the girl's dorms she was greeted by a very strange sight.. Sirius Black, prankster of Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry was doing the unthinkable... He was studying.

"Have I enterred the Twilight Zone?" Lily found herself asking. Sirius raised his head from the book he was reading and smirked, arching an eyebrow to show he hadn't a clue what she was talking about

Lily rolled her eyes and drifted over to the squishy sofa he was seated on and plopped down beside him for reasons that were beyond her. "Why are you studying?" she inquired curiously, eyeing him oddly as if she didn't quite know what to make of the situation.

"Remus said that if I fail my next Charms exam he'll never speak to me again" "He meant it, which is quite scary"

"Motivation then" the redhead laughed lightly, then became serious once more "But you can pass, Charms is easy!"

"Not for me" the charming Mr Black groaned, seeming slightly depressed. His gaze became fixed upon the red floor as if he found it highly interesting or ammusing or perhaps a mixture of the two.

"Well..." Lily began, not completely sure if this was going to be a good idea.

"Well what?"

"Maybe I could help you study" she finished, hoping she hadn't just ruined her entire life by offerring to help him.

"Really Evans?"

"On one condition..."

"Anything, oh almighty one" Sirius smiled, watching her closely with his eyes lit up.

"Don't call me Evans"

"What else am I supposed to call you?" he frowned, looking puzzled.

"By my first name"

"Ok... Wait, you've got a first name!" Sirius gasped in mock surprise, putting a hand on his heart as if he was having a heart attack at the idea of Evans having a first name at all! he looked rather comical in Lily's opinion.

"Very funny"

"Seriously, what is it"

"Sirius!" Lily exclaimed in frustration.

"Hey, that's my name too" he grinned, looking so like the Cheshire Cat that it was remarkable.

"Hilarious"

"That's a funny name" he replied, wrinkling his nose at the thought of that being her name.

"My name is Lily, and you know it" she said with her hands settled upon her hips.

"Lily... pretty name for a very weird girl" Padfoot smiled disarmingly, in such a way that Lily found it impossible to be annoyed with him at all.

"Charmer" she smirked, rolling her jade coloured orbs.

"Always"

"So, when do you want me to help you study?" she asked, hoping he would give her a day of freedom first...

"Um... now would be good. I'm lost in all this stuff" Sirius looked at her with the puppy-dog-eyes look that would never fail to make any girl do anything he wanted.

"Alright then" the delightful Prefect girl sighed, ready to begin their work "Summoning charms are complicated at times, I suppose. Alright then, this shouldn't be too hard"

"And if it is"

"Then I'll torture you all day until you understand it"

"Really?" he moaned, looking as if he was about to endure excrutiating pain.

"Yes. Or else" Lily eyed him menicingly, fighting back an ammused smile at the idea of Sirius Black, infamous Marauder, calling her Lily for once in the five years that she had known him.

"Sir yes sir" Sirius repsonded with a salute in military fashion.


	4. Quartet

As it happened, teaching Sirius the Summoning Charm took only a few hours of intense practise. The two teenagers left the common room together talking as if they were brother and sister, or something rather close to it.

"Lily, can I be honest with you about something?" Sirus asked quietly, wondering if eh was about to get Kenny in serious trouble.

"Of course you can" Lily nodded, fixing her emerald gaze upon her new-found friend.

"Well..." he wasn't quite sure how best to phrase what he wanted to tell her, without it sounding as bad as she probably would take it to be. "me, Remus and James heard you singing last night"

Lily blushed slightly "You did?" she responded weakly, wondering why he was telling her this. Was he going to ruin their new friendship and laugh at her?

"You're good, you know. Really good" he smiled softly, hoping she wasn't going to be mad at them.

"Oh come on Sirius, I'm not that good. I'm alright, I guess..."

"No Lily" Sirius said, cutting her off in mid sentence "You've got an amazing voice. Haunting, but amazing" Honesty filled his tone as the sincerest of smiles lit up his charmingly handsome features.

"Thanks Sirius, I'm glad you think I'm good" she managed after a few moments. Her eyes were alight as she thought of something "Would you help me pick out a song to sing at the end of the term?"

Sirius nodded, not wanting to mention that he knew more or less nothing about Muggle music and so would probably be useless to her. But at least he could try to help her after all the advice she had given him about Summoning Charms. He owed her alot, because he knew that the next day he would pass their mini-test in class for sure.

"I have one in mind, if I must be honest but... will you hear me and my friends sing it first?" she pleaded quietly, tilting her head to one side as she looked at him.

"Sure Lily... But I thought you would have sang on your own" the handsome boy seemed somewhat confused about this.

"the main part is mine, but I can't sing it on my own... You'll see what I mean" she shrugged with a secretive look in her eyes.

"when do I get to hear it then?" he inquired, knowing that Lily was going to be performing in the next week.

"Now, if you like" she chuckled softly "I can find the other's easily enough; they'll be in the room of requirement"

Sirius' eyes widened in surprise. How on Earth... "How did you find that room?" he asked, his voice hinting as his amazement.

"Proffessor Dumbledore told me about it when he heard me complaining that we had nowhere to practice in peace"

"I knew you couldn't have found it on your own" Sirius laughed, earning himself a fake slap on his arm from Lily. She smiled all the same, glad to have the boy as her friend.

The pair walked side by side to the Room Of Requirement, where they heard the sound of three girls singing perfectly in time with each other.

"Is that them?" Sirius inquired, watching Lily as she nodded then walked into the room. The three stopped singing and smiled at her.

"hey Lilz" Kendra, smiling brightly, greeted her.

"Where've you been?" came the Scottish accent of a blonde girl situated in the far corner of the room. Sirius looked at her, knowing her name to be Carla. She was in Gryffindor, but the year above the Marauders. How Lily knew her was beyond him.

"Question; Why have you brought him here?" came the soft voice of the final girl with flowing black curls. Everyone knew her to be Lucia, the Italian student who had moved to England only a year ago. Her accent prevailed still.

The other two girls seemed then to notice Sirius. they smiled but turned questioning eyes to Lily.

"I wanted to get his opinion on our song" she replied weakly.

"But I thought..." Kenny began, but was but off by Lily.

"I don't fancy him, Kenny, not at all" she replied simply "We're friends"

"Or else" Sirius laughed, making the four girls smile or chuckled at his words. After a moment he spoke again "So, are you girls going to sing for me or what?"

"If we must" Carla sighed in mock annoyance.


	5. Performing

The day of the talent competition had come. Every single student was pakced into the hall, ready to watch and find out what a Muggle competition was like. each and every one of them was waiting in anticipation, including the charming Mr Black. He smiled, knowing exactly what the girls were going to sing and who they were singing to. This was going to be interesting, he decided as he gave James a sideways glance. Mist then seemed to appear from nowhere and mask part of the stage from view.

Kendra, Lucia and Carla walked slowly out of the mist coverring the back part of the stage. Each one was dressed in white robes, styled to resemble Roman togas that covered their feet and gentle brushed against the ground.

A gentle sound floated in on the air; a piano playing the opening chords of the song. Beautifully calm notes filled the Great Hall. Just when everyone had a false sense of security about this song, a girl walked out of the mist and to the centre of the stage. As she walked, she sang in a sweet voice.

"_If there's a prize for rotten judgement, _

_I guess I've already won that,_

_No man is worth the aggravation _

_That's ancient history, _

_Been there, _

_Done that. _"

The music sped up as she sang. A light revealed her appearance to the entire room. The girl was average height with flaming red curls and glassy emerald eyes. Her own toga-like robes were a delicate shade of lavendar. It was..

"Lily" James gasped softly to himself. Nobody else heard, they were transfixed upon the Gryffindor girls up on the stage.

Now it was the other three's turn. They sang in unison in gospel-style voices.

"_Who'd ya think you're kidding? _

_He's the earth and heaven to ya _

_Try to keep it hidden, honey we can see right through ya _

_Girl ya can't conceal it _

_We know how you're feelin', who you're thinking of _."

Lily shook her head and turned to walk to the left side of the stage as she sang out, sounding uncertain of why she was singing what she was.

"_No chance, _

_No way, I won't say it, _

_No no_"

The other three girls rolled their eyes then dismissed her words.

"_You swoon, you sigh _

_Why deny it, uh oh_"

Lily sighed then looked at the ground in annoyance as her words left her lips

"_It's too...cliché _

_I won't say I'm in love_"

The four Gryffindors paused for a moment as the music played. Then Lily lifted her gaze to her audience and sang once more in a confused and mildly annoyed with herself.

"_I thought my heart had learned its lesson _

_It feels so good when ya start out _

_My head is screaming 'get a grip, girl!_

_Unless you're dying to cry your heart out!' _"

Lily's eyes seemed sadenned as she looked out at the audience for lack of anywhere else to settle her gaze. After a moment she found the boy she had been looking for in the crowd of students infront of her.

"_You keep on denying _

_Who you are and how you're feelin' _

_Baby, we're not lying, hon we saw ya hit the ceiling _

_Face it like a grown up _

_When ya gonna own up that ya got, got, got it bad_?"

Lily turned annoyed and exasperated eyes to the other three girls. She sighed then replied in a weak sort of tone. The way all four girls acted as well as sang made the song more exciting to listen to and watch being performed.

"_No chance, _

_No way, _

_I won't say it, no no_"

Unluckily for her as she was singing this she locked gazes with a certain Gryffindor Chaser and her lips curved into an unbidden smile that lit up her features. He stared back at her, in shock that not only was she looking at him, but smiling too! Something must be wrong, he decided this instantly...

"Give up, or give in

Check the grin, you're in love!"

Lily removed her eyes from the boy to fix the emerald orbs upon the other three on the stage. She sang adamantly but her expression betrayed her feelings and thoughts.

"_This scene won't play _

_I won't say I'm in love _

_You're way off base _

_I won't say it _

_Get off my case _

_I won't say it_"

The three shook their heads in unisons, seeming to be exasperated with her but noting the look upon her face. Then then smirked, knowing they had won.

"_Girl, don't be proud,_

_It's ok, you're in love_"

Lily sighed softly then moved her gaze the the boy once more. Her face had softened with a note of affection that had crept into her voice.

"_At least out loud _

_I won't say I'm in...love_"

The music faded out and for a moment their was silence. Then each and every person in the room, including the Slytherins for some unknown reason, jumped to their feet and cheered loudly for the four Gryffindor girls up on the stage.

One boy was staring at Lily in particular, seeming to have gotten then message hidden in her song.

James smiled lightly and mouthed the word "Really?" to Lily, knowing he would never be heard over the cheering of the entire population of Hogwarts.

"Yes" came her mouthed reply, a shy smile flickering across her face.

Wow, James thought, Lily Evans is in love... with me!


End file.
